


Interlude at the Temple of Capricornus

by ryoken



Series: thirteen years in unholy sanctuary [2]
Category: Saint Seiya
Genre: M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 13:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12255261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryoken/pseuds/ryoken
Summary: Shura doesn't speak much of anything to anyone, but he wonders about Aphrodite, sometimes. Aphrodite doesn't mind taking the time to see him.





	Interlude at the Temple of Capricornus

**Author's Note:**

> slight alcohol warning, set 1-2 years before canon, ig?
> 
> i wanted this to be gentle but kinda sad, and also better than my other sts fic. i wanted to get the kind of feeling living in sanctuary would cause amongst these specific characters down right. and i like writing shuradite. going by this order, my next fic would have to be dmdite, huh?

“...Hey, Aphrodite,” Shura called out, catching Aphrodite’s attention. Shura had been in the middle of answering the questions of a few saint trainees when he had noticed Aphrodite walking by the training circle, something that rarely happened. Usually the other man would be at his own temple, cultivating or practicing using his poisonous roses. Generally, Aphrodite had no interest in any part of Sanctuary that wasn’t the Pope’s temple. Remembering that they were ordered to leave for a mission together in a few days, and not used to seeing the Pisces saint around like this, Shura had instinctively called out to him.

 

Aphrodite’s head snapped up, as if he had just been pulled out of a daze. “Ah, Shura…” He replied, tilting his head in confusion at the other man, “Did you need something?”

 

Shura didn’t really know how to answer. He had felt an impulse to ask Aphrodite about something or another, but it didn’t really feel right to just shout out a few questions in public. But if he just said no, nevermind, then he wouldn’t be able to speak to Aphrodite until the day of their mission. That wasn’t really an option, as Aphrodite seemed hyperfocused on completing missions as efficiently as possible. He would probably see Shura’s questions as odd and invasive, or worse, as if he was being carefree like Deathmask is on missions. Although Aphrodite probably doesn’t mind it coming from Deathmask, but that’s no guarantee the same will apply to Shura. Somehow, he doesn’t doubt that Deathmask is a special exception for some inane reason or another. Shura paused.

 

“...You four,” Shura began, talking to the trainees gathered around him, “I’ll help you later. If you really need assistance immediately, there should be a few silver saints who should be able to help you. I have something to discuss with Aphrodite.” They seemed to be put off by Shura’s words but didn’t argue, sighing and complaining but leaving anyway.

 

Raising his head to see Aphrodite still standing where he had stopped, Shura took a deep breath and walked over to the other man. Aphrodite’s gaze was still questioning, but he simply smiled and nodded when Shura asked if he would accompany him to his temple. Aphrodite went the long way around, without any apparent concern for following the stone walkway. Shura walked beside him, staring at the ground as to not lose his footing on the grass. Their pace was leisurely, and the same dazed looked Shura saw before returned to Aphrodite’s face as he stared out at the scenery around them. Though it was obviously not unusual for him, Shura found himself continually glancing up at that spaced out expression. He decided to just turn his head up to look at Aphrodite as they walked.

 

“I hope I didn’t interrupt you on your way to something important,” Shura said, not sounding apologetic. Aphrodite hummed.

 

“I was just picking up a letter from a correspondent,” Aphrodite replied. Shura took note of the lack of any details in Aphrodite’s response.

 

“A letter?”

 

“I know, I know. But Mu doesn’t have any phones up on his little cloth playground,” Aphrodite looked over at Shura, who still looked like he had questions. “Otherwise I’d just use the telephone booth outside of Sanctuary. But I needed to ask him about improving the mobility of the joints in my cloth.”

 

“Why would you need to do that?” Shura asked, turning his head away when Aphrodite smiled at him in return, “You move gracefully enough as it is.” He heard a laugh next to him and felt his face warming slightly.

 

“Sweet of you to say,” Aphrodite said, “But it’s not just that. The lack of flexibility gets in the way of my aim, and it’s only going to become a nuisance the older I get.” His face seemed… almost sad, and Shura decided he shouldn’t question it further for now. 

 

Shura tried keeping his head forward until they reached his temple. But without anything to focus on, Shura felt hyper aware of himself. He didn’t usually care about things such as the smell of sweat of him, or how many days it had been since he last showered. And, honestly, Aphrodite didn’t seem to be one who cared about such things when he was training or otherwise wasn’t on guard. Shura had seen the man elbows deep in dirt before in the gardens, with clear sweat on his brow. But Aphrodite also never  _ seemed _ to be dirty or disgusting even then, dirtier than everyone else yet cleaner than them. Shura could not imagine himself ever being like that. He would never show such a thing as self doubt, as he was a prestigious sword; perfectly polished. But he was also a man, so he still had those thoughts internally. At the very least, he tried to quiet them as much as possible once they neared his temple.

 

They walked through the main temple area in silence, and Aphrodite waited patiently while Shura unlocked the door to his living space through the entrance off to the side of the room, obscured to visitors by a large statue. Aphrodite unstrapped his sandals delicately and pointedly made sure to leave them at the entrance when Shura tried to walk in without removing his. Shura tch’d under his breath, keeping his face hidden from the other man, knowing full well he’d be made fun of for pouting otherwise. He kicked off his sandals anyway. Aphrodite stared at him from the short hallway with a small, but genuine, smile on his face.

 

“Hey,” Shura said, as if struggling to find the words, “Can I offer you… anything… to drink?” Aphrodite tilted his head at him.

 

“You’ve gotten so polite since you stopped being such a kid,” Aphrodite commented, giving Shura an expectant gaze.

 

“Was that… a goat joke?”

 

“Not a very good one, apparently.”

 

“I recline my offer of a drink.”

 

Aphrodite laughed, “Aw, come on, Shura. You’re so serious. But you really have changed since we were children. You rarely approach me outside of missions and training,” He paused, his smile starting to fall, “Although, I guess that wasn’t much of a change. You stopped being sociable while we were still trainees together.” 

 

“Social skills aren’t necessary for gold saints,” Shura sighed.

 

“A shame, isn’t it? We’re basically weapons of mass destruction, and nobody ever thought to show us how to talk to people,” Aphrodite’s laugh sounded pained, “I hate that. But this is the only place where our skills are useful to world. It’s all we have, isn’t it.”

 

Shura stayed silent for a long moment, and sighed, “I suppose.”

 

“Sorry, you didn’t invite me over to hear me whine over our fate, right?” Aphrodite’s smile was significantly less genuine, this time.

 

“Er, I don’t, mind…” Shura stated awkwardly, but Aphrodite had already moved to searching around Shura’s kitchen.

 

“I doubt you’ve opened that red Deathmask gave you for your birthday, right? Let’s have that,” Aphrodite said. Moving around Shura’s kitchen in search, Shura himself just stared at him from the doorway.

 

“I thought I reclined my offer,” Shura mumbled under his breath, dropping his shoulders. After finding the wine bottle he was looking for, Aphrodite moved them both to Shura’s sparse living room, sitting himself on the couch and opening the bottle.

 

Shura stood over him, brows furrowed. Aphrodite’s eye looked up at him from under his eyelashes. They stared at each other as Aphrodite took a long drink straight from the bottle and offered it to Shura. Shura took it from his hand, breaking eye contact only to take a long drink himself. Handing it back to Aphrodite, Shura sat heavily on the couch in defeat. After a few long minutes of drinking in silence, Shura made eye contact with Aphrodite again and decided to speak.

 

“Why do you do so much, when Saga already considers you invaluable?” He asked simply, and Aphrodite’s face dropped. Shura looked uncomfortable, unsure how to elaborate on his question.

 

“I’m aware you… fight for him, but he’s already recognized you, I think.” Aphrodite sighed at Shura’s words.

 

“Is that what you’ve all been assuming,” Aphrodite said, clear it wasn’t a question he needed answered, “The Pope is simply… a means to an end. I don’t mean him as a person of course, Saga would cry if I said that. I fight for the Pope only as a means to fight for the justice of the world.”

 

Shura seemed skeptical at Aphrodite’s words, so he continued, “Not that I have any delusions about being a good person, don’t get me wrong. Nothing we have done to this Sanctuary has been right. But the status of Sanctuary doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. It doesn’t matter if it’s the late Pope Shion or Saga in charge, it doesn’t matter whether there’s a God or not, and it doesn’t matter whether we are people or weapons. We exist to follow whoever will protect the people of this world from other God’s who simply wish to do what they want with it. It doesn’t matter if the person leading us is Athena or Saga, as long as they are capable.”

 

Shura mulled over Aphrodite’s words for a long moment. It was clear this was something Aphrodite had thought over frequently and had placed his strongest convictions on. And Shura was, honestly, a bit taken back by how honorable and blasphemous Aphrodite was all at once. He thought hard on how to respond.

 

“You don’t seem to care that we’ll end up suffering eternally in the underworld after all of this,” Shura pointed out, “Fighting a God is one thing, but turning your back on your God is another. Leading your life to protect people as efficiently as possible won’t save any of us.”

 

Aphrodite sighed, “I’m aware. And you’re aware of the other fact too, right? Hades will have no love for us when we die whether we fight with or without Athena, since in the end we’re still against him. We were damned to the lowest reaches of Hell by becoming saints before we even understood what that meant.”

 

Shura was going to retort to his words until he noticed tears forming in the corners of Aphrodite’s eyes. He seemed to be trying hard to keep his expression strong, but the combination of alcohol and such a heavy topic was probably pushing him to breaking down. Shura stopped himself.

 

“Damned to hell, huh…?” Muttering, Shura took Aphrodite’s hands in his, “Aphrodite, we’re not just going to become sacrifices for this world. I know I’m a cynic, and I stopped caring for things like gods and justice a long time ago, but. But. Our fates aren’t set in stone. We can change these things in the Holy War.”

 

“After so long of not being able to? I wonder…“ Aphrodite whispered, looking down at their joined hands.

 

“I always wondered how you kept yourself so unyielding for so long,” Shura admitted, “In the face of everything, it was only you and Deathmask that never changed in your convictions. I admired that.” Aphrodite lifted his face, looking at Shura questioningly, tears running freely down his face.

 

“You did?”

 

“Of course,” Shura responded easily, “We’ll be unyielding in this, too. We’ll change the tides of this holy war.” Aphrodite smiled.

 

“Somehow, I believe you. It must be because I’m not used to hearing such reliable words from you, Shura.”

 

“Enough of that.”

 

“Sorry, sorry,” Aphrodite laughed through his tears, causing Shura to smile without noticing as well. After a moment, with their hands still joined, Shura leaned down and met Aphrodite’s lips with his own. Aphrodite’s face was still wet with tears, but Shura didn’t pay it any mind. He kept his eyes open only long enough to see Aphrodite relax into the kiss, moving one of his hands to rest on Aphrodite’s neck as he closed his eyes as well. Neither kept track of how long it lasted, though Aphrodite broke away first to speak.

 

“I think you’ve convinced me, Shura.”

 

“Ah, I hope so. Talking isn’t one of my strong suits.”

**Author's Note:**

> if you also like shuradite feel free 2 tell me i'm dying alone here with there only being me and like 1 pixiv artist


End file.
